


the first night

by clicheusername5678



Series: Catradora Oneshots [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, First Meeting, Flashback, Kid Catra and Adora, Sharing a Bed, excerpt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 02:25:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17572532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clicheusername5678/pseuds/clicheusername5678
Summary: An excerpt from a larger fic, "secret hordak." Young Adora meets the Shadow Weaver's newest ward, a wild girl named Catra.





	the first night

**Author's Note:**

> I really loved this flashback in "secret hordak," and wanted to also post it as a one-shot. This fic is categorized as Catradora only because they end up romantically involved later in their lives. Here they're children, and that's all. Their meeting is an important moment and I wanted to tackle writing it myself - please enjoy!

“Didja hear, Rogelio?” Adora asked her fellow cadet, bouncing around the gym. At only six years old, she was already a force to be reckoned with, a ball of energy that Shadow Weaver treated more often like a daughter than a trainee.

Rogelio shook his head, unresponsive as usual.

“We’re getting a new cadet today!” Adora enthused. “The last of Shadow Weaver’s wards, she said! So it’ll be you, me, Lonnie, Kyle, and… the new one!”

Rogelio nodded, allowing Adora to continue.

“I wonder if they’ll be nice. D’ya think they’ll be a lizard, like you? Or they’ll have a mask, like Shadow Weaver, or cool hair, like Lonnie? Do you think I’ll beat them in fighting? Do you think they’ll beat me? Do you—”

“Adora,” said the voice of Shadow Weaver, who had at some point appeared in the training room’s doorway. “Come with me, dear. I’d like to introduce you to the new cadet.”

Adora grinned and took Shadow Weaver’s hand. “Where are they?”

Shadow Weaver sighed. “It appears that this child is rather… feral,” she said. “She’s been putting up a fight.”

Adora frowned. “What? Why would she fight anyone outside of the simulator?”

“We found her in the wild, dear,” Shadow Weaver said. “Lost, alone… stealing food from a nearby village we had recently invaded. A mere child—six years old, just like you. She almost killed one of our soldiers when he tried to apprehend her.”

Adora gasped. “Whoah. That’s so cool!”

Shadow Weaver snarled, and her grasp became tight against Adora’s hand. “You will say no such thing! This girl, this… Catra… will need to behave if she wants to stay in the Horde!”

“Catra,” Adora said, the name rolling playfully off her tongue. “Well, I’m sure we’ll be friends! I can look after her—don’t worry.”

“She’s been assigned the bunk above yours,” Shadow Weaver said. “I am hoping that by following your example, she can… adjust… to the Fright Zone’s expectations. And if not, if she is a destructive influence, I will remove her.”

“And put her back into the wild?”

Shadow Weaver shook her head. “No.”

Adora wanted to know more, but they had already reached their destination. A locked door, guarded by a single officer. Shadow Weaver nodded him away, grabbed the doorknob, and sighed.

“Stand behind me,” she said as she opened the door. Inside the room it was dark and still… until two large eyes opened, glowing blue and yellow.

Into the dim light came a small girl, wearing the Horde uniform (although it seemed as though she had attempted to claw it off), with lowered ears and a drooping tail. There were cuts on her face and arms, hastily bandaged, recent. Her peach-fuzz fur was muddied and wild. Her long brown hair was more of a mane.

She hissed at Shadow Weaver on sight. “Let me out of here!” she demanded, her voice high and unconvincing.

She froze at the sight of Adora, stepping out from behind Shadow Weaver’s form.

Adora stared, open-mouthed, at the other girl. And then finally, she spoke.

“Hi, Catra,” she said, her voice gentle and awed. “I’m Adora.”

Catra looked from Shadow Weaver to Adora, a small whimper escaping her lips.

“Well?” Shadow Weaver demanded. “What do you say?’

Catra remained silent, untrusting, shaking like a leaf. Adora frowned.

“It’s okay,” she said, stepping into the room. Catra moved backwards.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” Adora insisted, although she didn’t attempt to move any closer. “Listen, Shadow Weaver said you’re gonna be my bunk-mate, and I just wanna… I just wanna…”

Adora’s voice tapered off as Catra approached her, slow and silent, her intelligent eyes narrowed.

“Bunk… mate?” she asked, blinking.

Adora smiled. “Yeah! You’re gonna get a bed right above mine!”

“Bed?”

Adora cocked her head. “You don’t have a bed?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Catra,” Shadow Weaver interjected, her voice harshly pronouncing the name. “Life will be better for you here. You just need to  _give in_.”

“You… you hurt me,” Catra said to Shadow Weaver. “Your soldiers…”

“Because you were stealing from our settlement,  _dear_ ,” Shadow Weaver argued. “Like a wild animal. Do you know what we do to wild animals?”

Catra shook her head, defiant.

“We hurt them,” Shadow Weaver said plainly. “Adora, sweetheart, does Catra seem like a wild animal to you?”

“N-no,” Adora said, her brows furrowing. “Of course not.”

Catra narrowed her eyes. “I’m not—”

“Then you’d be wise to act like it,” Shadow Weaver said, grabbing Catra by the chin. “Do you understand, child?”

Catra bore her fangs, but then remembered how it had felt the last time she resisted. The terrifying and painful red magic, red as the blood that had flowed from her wounds. 

She closed her mouth and forced her muscles to relax. Satisfied, Shadow Weaver released her. “That’s right,” she said. “Now, come along, foolish thing. Adora will show you to the barracks.”

Catra was silent again as she followed Shadow Weaver out of the small dark room. Adora stayed by her side, still very clearly mystified.

“Hey,” she said, her voice quiet enough not to reach Shadow Weaver’s ears. “You heard what she said—they won’t hurt you here, as long as you’re a proper soldier and all. It’s not hard to pick up, I promise—in fact, I can show you the ropes myself! And I really think you’ll like the bed.”

“It’s not like I really have a choice,” Catra said stiffly.

“But,” Adora said softly, “where else is there to be? The Horde is the future, Catra. We’re establishing order on Etheria. We can…  _do_  things here, to change the world. And now you can be a part of that.”

Catra rolled her eyes. “I bet you’re everyone’s favorite, huh.”

Adora shrugged. “I dunno.”

Catra glanced at Shadow Weaver. “Looks like you’re  _her_  favorite, for sure.”

“Well, she’s raised me since I was a baby,” Adora said fairly. “All I remember is the Fright Zone.”

Understanding set in, and Catra regarded the girl again. “So… you’ve never been in the forest?”

“No.”

“Or the beach?”

“No. But I’ve always had a purpose, and a bed, and food that I haven’t had to steal. And Shadow Weaver.”

Catra was silent.

“And I have friends,” Adora continued. “The other cadets. Rogelio, Lonnie, Kyle. But they treat me weird, sometimes. I think they don’t like me, because I beat them in the simulator, but they only talk about it behind my back.”

“People are dumb,” Catra said, her voice bitter and low. “Why… would they talk behind your back? Can’t they just fight you, if there’s a problem? I…  _I’ll_  fight them.”

Adora raised an eyebrow. “You’d fight someone just because they insulted me? That’s so cool!”

Catra blushed and shoved Adora lightly. “You’re stupid,” she said.

“You’re stupid!” Adora laughed, shoving back.

Shadow Weaver turned around and the girls immediately separated. Adora saluted and Catra followed suit.

“The barracks,” Shadow Weaver pronounced. “Get some sleep, girls. Training is early tomorrow.”

Adora nodded while Catra avoided the sorceress’ gaze. Shadow Weaver turned, and finally, the girls were alone.

“Looks like Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio are already sleeping,” Adora said quietly as she led Catra to her bed. “You’ll meet them tomorrow.”

“Great,” Catra said sarcastically.

“They really are nice,” Adora insisted. “Sometimes training just makes us all act dumb.”

Adora paused at a bunk, motioning to the bed above her own. “This is us,” she said. “Are you okay being up top?”

Catra smirked and climbed the bed in seconds, like the wild thing she was. Adora smiled, in awe.

“ _You’re so cool_ ,” she whisper-yelled. Catra felt herself blushing and didn’t really understand why.

“I’ll warn you,” Adora said, tucking herself under her thin covers. “It does get kind of cold at night.”

“This?” Catra laughed dryly from above. “This is cozy.”

“Okay,” Adora said, “but if you get… chilly… or scared… because this is a new place, and you’ve had a rough time getting here…”

Silence came from the top bunk. Finally, Catra spoke, her voice cracking with anticipation. “Yeah?”

“You could come down here,” Adora said. “Sometimes Kyle and Rogelio share a bed. I’ve always thought… maybe it’d be nice…”

Catra descended from her bunk just as quickly as she had ascended. She stayed on the very edge of the tiny mattress, nervous and slightly embarrassed.

Adora yawned and nuzzled into her pillow. “I’m sleepy.”

“Yeah,” Catra said, staring at the girl in the dark. “Me too.”

Adora turned to face Catra’s heterochromatic eyes, reaching her hand to grab at the other girl’s wrist. “Then let’s sleep.”

“Y-yeah.”

It didn’t take long for Adora to pass out, her breaths rhythmic, calming, and slow. And Catra couldn’t believe herself, comfortable and warm, with the vague feeling of safety in this terrible place…

In the morning, it was Adora who woke first. She was trained to wake at the same time every day, having been Shadow Weaver’s ward for as long as she could remember.

But this—someone else in her bed, having moved in the night to curl up at her feet—was something entirely new.

Adora stared, fascinated, at Catra, her mouth opened in a tiny ‘o,’ the most peaceful she’s been in the short time Adora had known her. It was a necessary evil to wake her up, but still felt evil nonetheless.

“Catra,” Adora said, tapping the girl on the shoulder. “Come on, dummy, you gotta get up.”

Catra’s eyes fluttered slowly, her expression sleepy and soft. Fear flashed in her eyes as she recognized her surroundings… but then faded as she met with Adora’s gaze.

“Hey,” Adora said. “We… we’ve got training soon.”

Catra yawned, her fangs bared and morning breath obscene. A small smile on her face, she scratched behind her own ear.

“Hey, Adora. Ready for me to kick your butt?”

Adora laughed and pushed Catra off the bed. The girls walked to training side-by-side, better rested than they had been in years.


End file.
